


Heavy Weight

by barrybinary



Category: DCU, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Kinda, M/M, based on a tumblr ask
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15762039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barrybinary/pseuds/barrybinary
Summary: Barry has a lot on his mind after Flashpoint, and even though he was able to put on a brave face for Bruce, the same couldn't be said about his best friend.





	Heavy Weight

**Author's Note:**

> the ask was  
> "anonymous asked:
> 
> what're your thoughts on the comic book or movie flashpoint and do you think hal would help barry calm down after it? (cause i think that would be at least a little bit scarring)"  
> and i guess bc ive lost my mind i had to write something for it

Barry stood in the middle of Hal’s living room in his comfy clothes,  _ so _ glad he was on earth and not Oa. He’d had to keep his brave face on for Bruce, but now... he was breaking. He’d run over after changing,  _ needing _ to see the other.

“Barry?” Hal’s voice sounded, knocking Barry out of his thoughts and making his feet move. Before Hal could blink, the speedster’s arms were around his neck, holding him as close as possible with his face buried into his neck. His breath stuttered, trying to hold in his sobs as he held the man he loved close.

“I’m — I fucked up,” Barry got out through tears. “I fucked up so bad.”

“Wait, wait,” Hal gently pushed Barry away. He held onto the other’s biceps, noticing Barry wouldn’t meet his eyes. “What happened?” He asked, his eyebrows pulled together in worry.

“I saved her. And... then I had to kill her again.” Tears still streamed down Barry’s face, but Hal was now more focused on his words.

“ _ What?” _

“I— my mom. I went back in time. It fucked everything up.” Barry’s words came out almost too quick to decipher.

Hal’s mouth opened and closed, his face showing his confusion. He took Barry’s hand, leading him to the love seat — the only seating in his living room. 

He pushed Barry onto the couch, sitting right beside him and making a startled sound when Barry immediately pushed himself into Hal’s lap. His legs stradded Hal’s, getting as close as possible to the other man for comfort. His arms circled his neck once more, and Hal’s hands went to wrap around Barry’s midsection on instinct. “Explain, slowly,” Hal murmured into Barry’s ear. Barry was his best friend, and even though the position they were in was... _ different _ than what you would expect from a friend, it didn’t mean he could just  _ let _ Barry be upset. 

He felt Barry’s breath against his neck, slowing down as he tried to get onto Hal’s speed. “Okay,” He said after a few minutes. “So, it was the anniversary of my mother’s death the other day, you know?” Hal nodded. “And... I came up with the idea to go back in time... and save her. And I  _ did _ . I saved her. I still have all these memories of a life I lived with my mother and without being Flash. I still see her growing old and celebrating birthdays with me.” Barry devolved into tears, Hal feeling the shoulder of his shirt grow uncomfortably wet with the warm wet of tears soaking through the fabric.

“That’s good, though?” Hal asked, not entirely getting it. 

“The world was at war. Diana and Arthur were fighting, destroying continents and killing millions. Bruce wasn’t Batman, it was his  _ fucking dad. _ In that universe, Bruce was the one who died in the alleyway. An innocent kid.” Barry pulled away from Hal. The dark made it unable to see Barry’s face clearly, but Hal could still see his tear-swollen eyes and his quivering frown. “And Clark... Oh my God... Clark. He didn’t land in rural Kansas in this timeline. He landed in  _ Metropolis,  _ where they kept him as prisoner and test subject his whole life. I could see all of his bones. I told him I was his friend... and he repeated it to me like he didn’t know what the word meant.” Barry’s shoulders hunched as he put his head down, covering his face with his hands as sobs echoed around the room. Hal could feel his full-body shaking.

Hal, at a loss for what to do, brought his hand up to thread through Barry’s hair to calm him. Hal’d always calmed down when his girlfriends played with his hair, so he hoped it might do the same to Barry. 

Barry’s breathing evened out, his shoulders steadying. His hands fell from his face, now wringing each other nervously. “I had to get my powers back, so I got Thomas to strap me to the equivalent of an electric chair.” Hal’s eyes widened, his hand pausing in it’s movements in Barry’s hair. “It was stormy; we waited for lightning. Lightning came, and it didn’t work. I was just set on fire.” 

“Barr-”

“We tried again. This time, it worked. And I thought I could go home. But... Eobard was there. He siphoned off the speedforce so I couldn’t get back. In this doomed world, I was stuck.

“I’d hoped you were in space, but I was proven wrong when the news reported a test pilot had flown a suicide mission into an Atlantean ship.” 

Now, Barry looked up. “Hal. You weren’t a Green Lantern. You were  _ dead.” _

Hal’s jaw clenched as he processed this information, but before he could ask anything, Barry continued, now with Hal’s hands on his waist.

“I had to stop myself from saving her to get back here. I watched her die. I watched my chance be missed. But most importantly...” His voice trailed off, Barry closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before looking into Hal’s eyes for the first time of the night. “Because of my selfishness, I created an entire doomed timeline. When I left? It was the end of the world.” 

Hal brought his hands to Barry’s face, unencumbered by the weight of what he was supposed to do as a friend. “Listen, Barry,” He brought him closer, “I would do  _ anything _ to get my dad back. If I had the power to travel through time like you? You bet your ass I’d have created a doomed timeline right when I found that out.”

Barry was sucking on his bottom lip, tears still flowing from his eyes. “Hal, I created a timeline where you died, and wouldn’t come back.” 

Hal’s eyebrows furrowed once more, and Barry continued. “I couldn’t save you. In fact, it was me who doomed you. I just... I was in that universe, and everything was happening and my mom was alive and I had memories of a childhood with her, and I still just... I heard you died. I could barely keep myself from crying. Hal, I never want to be in a universe without you.”

Hal’s jaw went slack, processing what Barry’d just said and wondering  _ how _ that could possibly be taken outside of being romantic. He managed to get out, “I feel the same about you.”

For the first time of the night, Barry let a little smile grace his features. There were still tears on his cheeks, still sadness in his eyes, but it was progress. 

Taking a leap of faith, Hal reached forward and kissed Barry on the nose. He smiled when Barry giggled, shrinking away. 

“You’ve had a long few days,” Barry nodded, “So how about we goto bed? Nothing sexual,” He added quickly, “Just us, being together. You look like you need to be held.” 

Barry’s shoulders relaxed, his smile looking a lot more real now. This wasn’t over, Hal knew. A person doesn’t get over something that traumatizing so quickly. Barry still had a lot on his shoulders — an entire doomed world on his conscience.

Hal just hoped he could lighten the load. 

**Author's Note:**

> [reblog it here](http://haljords.tumblr.com/post/177262180708/whatre-your-thoughts-on-the-comic-book-or-movie)


End file.
